Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said Thursday that he sees lower risks to inflation as tariffs have driven up price pressures less than expected. "I see on the margin...a reduction of some of the upside risks to inflation" from tariffs, Williams told reporters after speaking at the Economic Club of New York. He noted this reduction comes alongside greater clarity about future economic policy. Williams acknowledged that President Donald Trump's import tax increases are "definitely" affecting price pressures, but added that in terms of tariff pass-throughs to higher...
MRB warns of fewer cuts next year.The Fed is likely to rein in its forecast for rate cuts next year as Fed members are teeing up the idea of a higher neutral rate pointing to much shallower rate-cut cycle, MRB Partners said in a recent note. "Investors should expect the Fed's median forecast of the longer-run (or neutral) policy rate to rise ahead," strategists at MRB Partners said. "The implication is that Fed will ease rates less next year than what it had signaled in the September dot-plot, and what the bond market has been pricing in." The Fed cut rates by 25 basis points in November...
Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee on Thursday reiterated his support for further interest rate cuts and his openness to doing them more slowly, remarks that underscore the U.S. central bank's debate that it's not about whether, but over how fast and how far, borrowing costs should be lowered. Some Fed policymakers worry that progress lowering inflation may have stalled and call for a cautious approach, while others want to make sure the labor market doesn't cool further, suggesting the need for continued rate cuts. And over all of those differences hangs the uncertainty of...
It remains uncertain how far interest rates can fall, though the initial reductions made by the U.S. central bank are a vote of confidence that inflation is returning to its 2% target, Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid said on Tuesday. "The decision to lower rates is an acknowledgement of the ... growing confidence that inflation is on a path to reach the Fed's 2% objective - a confidence based in part on signs that both labor and product markets have come into better balance in recent months," Schmid said in remarks prepared for delivery to the Omaha Chamber of Commerce. He said...
U.S. President Joe Biden pledged a $4 billion U.S. contribution to the World Bank's International Development Association fund for the world's poorest countries, two sources with knowledge of the commitment said on Monday. Biden announced the U.S. pledge during a closed session of the Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The amount is a record and substantially exceeds the $3.5 billion Washington committed in the previous IDA fund replenishment round in December 2021. A White House spokesperson in Washington declined comment...
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the recent performance of the US economy has been "remarkably good," giving central bankers room to lower interest rates at a careful pace. "The economy is not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry to lower rates," Powell said Thursday in prepared remarks in Dallas. "The strength we are currently seeing in the economy gives us the ability to approach our decisions carefully." US central bankers began lowering borrowing costs in September with an aggressive half-percentage-point cut, and then lowered the policy rate again by a...
President Donald Trump said he would fire Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors if she does not resign her post over mortgage-fraud accusations from a top...
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) maintained its cash rate at 4.1% during its April meeting, holding borrowing costs unchanged after slashing 25 bps in the February meeting, aligning with market...